


Angel From Heaven

by DarylsBabyGirl



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationship (Alex/Paul), Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Depictions of medical procedures, Dr. Daryl Dixon, Dr. Negan, Dr. Philip Blake, EMT Glenn, EMT Tara, M/M, More tags to be added, Nurse Carol, Nurse Maggie, Past Drug Use, Patient Paul, Personal Trainer Paul, depictions of medical trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-09-07 07:01:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16849348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarylsBabyGirl/pseuds/DarylsBabyGirl
Summary: Daryl is a doctor who normally works the night shift, but while covering for a colleague, he receives a patient in critical condition who happens to be the man he fell in love with ten years ago. The only problem is, the man has a boyfriend.





	1. Ch. 1

**Author's Note:**

> I BRING YOU SOMETHING NEW!
> 
>  
> 
> Even though I have like... three other wips to finish...

Daryl yawned as he trudged into the Emergency Room of Atlanta Medical Center. He had his motorcycle helmet in one hand and a stainless steel mug in the other. He hated working in the morning, but he was covering for a coworker and getting extra hours to pay for his new bike. Being a doctor, yes he did make a lot of money, but he had hospital bills and a house payment. As he turned into the break room, he paused when he saw Dr. Blake at the nurse's station down the hall. He groaned. Great. That was one of the main reasons he worked nights. So he didn’t have to deal with the likes of that guy. 

He stepped into the break room just as he heard his name called. He ignored it in favor of opening his locker and putting his helmet in his locker and taking off his leather jacket. Unfortunately, Dr. Blake wasn’t going to take the hint. He opened the door and stepped in. Daryl held back another groan. It was too early to deal with this and he was not in the mood. 

“Dixon… strange to see you coming in this early instead of at night.” The door shut behind the man. He smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, the arms of his white coat tightening around his biceps as if he was trying to intimidate or impress Daryl. “Did you miss me?”

Either way, Daryl was neither. Only two men had ever intimidated him in his life. His father and his brother. Everyone else was nothing to him. Only one man had ever been able to impress him, and he’d only met him about two or three times back when he was working to pay for his medical schooling. He’d never been able to get those starry eyes out of his head. They haunted his dreams and his waking moments, pushing him to better himself.

“No one misses you, Blake.” The doctor grunted as he sipped his coffee. He took his flannel off and pulled on his black scrub top, following by his jeans replaced by scrub pants. He pulled on his white lab coat that had his name embellished on it, a gift from his brother. 

Blake snorted. “My girlfriend would beg to differ. She missed me so much I didn’t get any sleep last night.”

Daryl grabbed his mug of coffee as he walked to the door. “I hope yer patients don’t suffer yer lack of sleep, then.” He bypassed the man, trying very hard not to knock their shoulders together. 

“You’re just jealous I’m getting laid and you’re not!” The doctor yelled down the hall. A few nurses and patients looked over at them. Daryl flipped the man off as he sipped on his coffee and walked to the nurse's station to get his first patient chart of the day.

He soon learned to work during the day was much different than at night. People came in for the stupidest reasons. By noon, he’d treated three minor splinters, a child that had gotten into the babysitter’s makeup and rubbed it all over and she thought it was a rash and freaked out, and five elderly patients who had fallen and broken various bones. Working at night you mostly got drunks, car accidents, and gangsters who’d been shot, stabbed or beaten to a bloody pulp. 

He’d finally gotten a chance to sit down and eat while working on some reports during a lull in the department. Since his scare five years ago, he’d taken to eating healthier and exercising a lot more. Heart failure at 25 was nothing to laugh about. All the drinking, smoking and drugs he’d done all his teenaged years had caught up to him. A heart transplant had saved his life and the young man he’d received it from made him promise to take care of it. He’d gone into med school as soon as he was better, started taking care of himself and now at 35, he lived to take care of others. 

The only thing missing in his life was someone to love.

He’d just finished his fourth report when the radio at the main triage desk came in. “Atlanta Medical Center, this is Ambulance 12. Do you copy?” No one else was at the station since most everyone was at lunch. He recognized the EMT’s voice, so he rolled over to it and picked up the receiver. 

“Go for Dixon, Rhee.”

“Hey, Doc, we got a 27-year-old male, bp 90/50 with a heart rate of 125 and a pulse ox of 92. Boyfriend called it in, said he found him on the bathroom floor convulsing. ETA 10 minutes.”

“Alright. We’ll have trauma bay 2 ready.” He put the receiver back on and got up. He’d have to finish his reports later. He removed his lab coat, draping it over his chair and walked down the hall to the break room and poked his head in. “We got a Trauma 2 coming in, ETA 10 minutes.” Three nurses jumped up and followed him out of the room and down the hall to Trauma Bay 2 where they prepared it. “Let’s get a cric kit prepared, along with a thoracotomy tray and some lorazepam.” Within 8 minutes, the ambulance was arriving and bringing the patient down the hall from the bay doors. Daryl hurried over to meet them. “Talk ta me, Glenn.”

“BP’s dropped by ten minutes, O2 has dropped down to 89, he woke up for a brief moment, then seized just as we pulled up.” Glenn was at the head of the stretcher, holding the oxygen mask over the patient’s mouth. 

Daryl put his stethoscope in his ears and listened to the man’s chest. His breaths were labored and his heart rate was slow. He didn’t like that. “Did ya get a name?”

Glenn nodded. “Paul. His boyfriend said he was fine last night, he went to bed early complaining of a headache, but he seemed fine otherwise. When the boyfriend woke up, Paul wasn’t in bed so he went to the bathroom to check on him and found him on the shower floor.” He smirked a bit. “The poor guy was hysterical, screaming and crying. He’s on his way here.”

“Great.” Daryl groaned. It was nice for the patient to have the support of family, plus he could get more information from the family if the patient was unconscious, but when they were hysterical, it didn’t help at all to have them at the patient’s bedside. “Alright, let’s get him in the bay and get him on the bed.” He helped them roll the patient into the room. They unstrapped the patient from the stretcher. “On my count. 3, 2, 1.” With all four of them, they slid the patient from the stretcher and onto the ER bed. “We got it from here, guys, thanks.”

Glenn and his partner nodded and rolled their stretcher away to clean it and get it prepared for the next patient. 

“Carol, get me an IV started with a continuous drip of saline, we need to get his bp up. Maggie, get him on the monitor, we’ll need to keep an eye on his vitals.” He started his examination of the patient using a penlight to check his pupils. “Pupils are reactive. Paul, can you hear me?” 

“IV in and saline dripping,” Carol said. 

Daryl thanked her, palpating the man’s chest and stomach. When he pressed down on the patient’s stomach, the patient groaned, eyes flicking open and shut and head moving left and right in pain. The doctor moved back up to the head of the stretcher. “Paul, are you with me?” When the man’s beautiful blue eyes focused on Daryl’s face for a moment, he felt his own heart nearly stop. “Hi, I’m Dr. Dixon, can you tell me what happened?”

The man started mumbling incoherently. “Baby… deer… drinking water…” Everyone in the bay looked around at each other. “Magnificent beard…”

Daryl smirked a bit. It was worrying, yet funny to hear how patients who were confused or delirious spoke. “Well, thank you. How do you feel?” The patient’s eyes rolled into the back of his skull and his body began to convulse again. “He’s seizing!” He lifted the man’s head and pulled the pillow out from under, tossing it into a corner of the room. “Get me 4 milligrams or lorazepam in his IV!”

Carol spun around, reaching into the medicine cart for the shot. She turned back around and pushed the medication into the IV access in the patient’s hand. “Lorazepam in!” She looked up, watching as the patient’s body settled again. 

“PAUL!” 

The hysterical scream drew all eyes onto the dark blonde haired man running into the department, cheeks red and wet from crying and wearing some sweatpants and a t-shirt. Daryl looked at Glenn who was still at the nurse’s station giving a report to the triage nurse. The paramedic smirked and nodded in the man’s general direction. The doctor sighed and looked at Carol and Maggie who were both smiling a bit in amusement. Carol nodded in the man’s direction as well and Daryl mumbled as he walked over. 

“Sir, please stop yelling. We have your boyfriend over here.” When the man tried running to the bay, Daryl stopped him. “Just calm down, we’re working on him. I need ya to tell me what happened. What’s your name?”

“A-Alex.” The man sniffled, reaching up to rub the tears from his cheeks. “Um… I-I don’t know. He went to bed early last night. He said he had a headache and was tired. He seemed fine when he went to bed and when I laid down later that night he was breathing fine. I woke up this morning and he wasn’t in bed, so I went to look for him cause he was late to work. I found him in the shower on the floor.” He started sobbing again, practically wailing. 

Daryl wanted to wrangle the man’s neck when a few other patients started peeking out of their privacy curtains, but he kept his cool. “Ok-okay, just… calm down. I still have some things to ask you. Can you tell me about his medical history? Does he have any allergies or take any medications?” 

The man breathed in and out shakily a few times. “Um… n-no… we haven’t been dating long. I know he takes Excedrin for his headaches. O-Other than that, I don’t know. He’s a very healthy man. He exercises and eats right, he’s a personal trainer at Rovia Gym.” 

“He doesn’t do drugs or drink alcohol?”

Alex shook his head. “Not anymore. It's been years since he used and he barely touches alcohol anymore.”

Daryl nodded. “Alright, well, we're gonna run some tests and see if we can find out what’s going on. If you’ll wait in the waiting room, I’ll come to find ya when I have news.” He waved to a nearby nurse and turned to go back into the bay. “How’s he doing, Carol?”

The charge nurse shook her head. “No change.”

Well, that was a good and bad thing. Good because his vitals were keeping steady, but bad because they had no idea what was wrong with him. “Alright, well, let’s draw some blood. I want a CBC, a CMP, a tox screen, a blood gas, ‘n let’s go ahead and get an EKG.” 

Carol nodded and turned to the computer on the wall. She ordered the tests while Maggie grabbed some tubes and drew blood from the patient’s IV. While waiting on the blood test results, Maggie got the portable EKG machine and opened the patient’s shirt. She paused when she saw a few scrapes along his chest. She gasped and hurried to the nurse’s station to find the doctor.

“Dr. Dixon!”

Daryl looked up from his computer screen, glasses perched on his nose. “What is it, Maggie?”

“The patient in the trauma bay, he has scrapes on his chest.” The brunette seemed worried. “They look maybe a day or two old.”

Daryl frowned and took his glasses off. He left them on the desk and came around. He followed her to the bay and pulled some gloves on so he could check it over. “Yeah, they certainly look like scrapes, like maybe he fell or brushed up against somethin. Go ahead ‘n clean ‘em up ‘n bandage ‘em. I’ll check ‘im for more wounds.” He helped the nurse get the man changed into a gown. The patient’s knees were scraped as well. “What was this guy doin?”

Dr. Blake and another colleague who only goes by Negan came over. “We heard you had an interesting case, so we thought we’d come to offer our assistance,” Blake smirked.

Daryl glared at them a bit. He wanted to say no, but if it helped the patient then he would accept it. “Ain’t much to go on right now, man. I’ve ordered lab work and an EKG. We just discovered these lacerations.”

The two doctors came closer and looked them over. “Does he have any family or friends you can talk to?”

“Yeah, the boyfriend came in shortly after the ambulance, said he’s a healthy guy, eats right, works at a gym as a personal trainer, hasn’t used drugs or alcohol in a long time.”

Mentioning the drugs had been a bad idea. The two doctors both frowned. “Could be an overdose, then… he probably overdosed.” Negan shrugged. 

“We don’t know that,” Daryl growled a bit. “The boyfriend said-”

“Man, the boyfriend’s probably a junkie, too.” Negan turned and started walking away. “You’re still too fucking trusting, Dixon.” He grabbed a chart from a nurse and disappeared behind a curtain.

Dr. Blake watched the man disappear as well and shook his head. He turned back to Daryl. “Don’t mind him. He’s been a bit cynical since Lucille left him.”

“That ain’t the patient’s fault.” Daryl snapped. The patient groaned again, making the doctors look at him. Daryl leaned over the patient again. “Paul, you back with us?”

Paul’s eyelids blinked several times. He stared at the doctor’s face like he couldn’t actually see the man. “Angel wings… on leather… fly down the road…”

Dr. Blake raised an eyebrow. “Has he been talking like this the whole time?” That definitely sent off warning bells in the doctor’s head. When a patient spoke like that and didn’t make sense, that usually meant they’ve been on drugs or there was something far more serious going on in their brain. Considering the boyfriend had said the patient used to do drugs, it was more likely the man must have had some kind of relapse and overdosed.

“He’s been in and out since he got in. EMT’s said he seized just as they were pulling up. I’d really rather wait til the tox screen comes back before just saying he’s had a relapse.” Daryl kept his hand on the patient’s head almost soothingly, half hoping Dr. Blake would be on his side, but also hoping the man would go away and leave him to treat the man.

Blake shook his head. “Sorry, Dixon, but I’m kinda with Negan on this one. It’s probably a relapse.” He turned and walked away as well, going back to the break room to finish his lunch.

Daryl shook his head and looked down at his patient, who was still mumbling about angels and motorcycles. He looked at his hand and noticed a bit of blood on his glove. When had he gotten blood on his glove? He leaned down, taking a closer look at the patient’s wet hair and noticed dried clumps of blood embedded on the patient’s scalp. He parted the hair and blinked at the large scrape. He leaned back and looked in Paul’s eyes. “Paul, what happened to your head, darlin?”

Paul blinked and whined softly head twitching. “Fell… Heaven...” 

“Did you fall? When did you get this scrape on your head?”

Alex walked over, biting his bottom lip. “Dr. Dixon… I just remembered something.”

Daryl looked up at the man. “What is it? Does it have to do with this blood in his hair?”

“Yes. Paul was off work yesterday, so he was doing some parkour downtown. He said he fell.”

That wasn’t good. “He fell? How far did he fall?” That could change everything. 

“Um… I think he said two stories. His foot slipped and he scraped his knees on the brick and hit his head on the fire escape railing. He was so banged up when he came home. I begged him to come to the ER, but he refused, saying it was the worst he’d been.” Alex sniffled, using a tissue to wipe his nose. 

Daryl looked down at Paul, then up at Carol. “Forget the EKG, he needs a CT scan, stat!”

“I’ll call Radiology!” She turned and grabbed the phone on the wall next to the computer, fingers moving over the keypad with expert precision.

Another nurse came in, handing Maggie a tablet. She removed her gloves and took it, thanking the nurse and looking over the lab results. “Dr. Dixon, lab results are back.” She handed the tablet to him over Paul’s body. The patient didn’t remove his gaze from the doctor’s face. 

Daryl took his own gloves off and took the device. He used his finger to swipe the screen up as he looked over the results. “Everything’s normal except his platelets. So, he’s definitely bleeding somewhere.” That only confirmed his suspicions even more that his patient was possibly bleeding in his brain. He almost wanted to go to the break room and shove the tablet in Blake’s face to prove to him that his patient hadn’t had a relapse. He refrained, though. His patient always came first. 

Carol hung up the phone and turned to him. “Dr. Greene said if we bring him down now, he can get him in before the next patient.”

“Alright! Let’s move, people!” Daryl hollered. He put the table down on a counter and used his foot to take the stretcher off the break. Carol grabbed the IV pole and Maggie put up the railing on her side while Daryl put up the railing on his side. He looked down at Paul. “Yer gonna be fine, Paul. I’ll take good care of ya.”

The patient smiled up at him deliriously. “Angel… from Heaven…”

Alex frowned. Angel..? He looked up at the doctor. This wasn’t the first time Paul had talked about an angel when he was asleep or sick. He followed them to the ER doors, but couldn’t continue on since the next hall was staff only. Was this doctor the same man Paul had met ten years ago?


	2. Ch. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl finds out what happened ten years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! This is a bit of a longer chapter cause I wrote it on my phone XD

Daryl sat at the monitor with the radiologist tech as the second tech and Maggie moved Paul onto the CT table and covered his pelvis with a protective vest. They left the room, joining the doctor and another tech at the monitors. The machine whirred and flashed a bit as several pictures were taken at different angles. The doctor’s foot bounced anxiously, knee-jerking up and down. If this man was who he thought he was, he prayed he wasn’t too late.

“Acquiring scans now.” The tech murmured. 

Daryl didn’t relax even as the scans pulled up. Together, they studied the scans. The third scan, he told the tech to stop scrolling through the pictures. “Right there.” He pointed at the screen at the top of the skull. “He’s bleeding in his brain.”

“His skull is cracked, too. Do you see that?” Maggie whispered. “It's a hairline fracture, but it's there. What did the boyfriend say again?”

“That he was doin parkour and slipped off the side of the buildin ‘n hit his head on the railing of the fire escape from the second floor.” Daryl looked over the top of the monitor and into the room. “This doesn’t look like no fall.”

“Well, that depends on the velocity he was falling at and the angle his body was in.” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest. “What? You think the boyfriend did something?” 

“I dunno. He was kinda shifty. I mean, who forgets their boyfriend fell and hit his head? I woulda brought ‘im straight to the ER as soon as I found out.” He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “Anyway, what matters right now is getting this man into the OR with a neurologist. Who’s here today?”

Maggie pulled out a sheet of paper from her scrub top pocket. “Dr. Aaron Raleigh.” 

Daryl looked at her. “Really? He’s back from his honeymoon?” Aaron was a neurosurgeon who married one of the nurses on the neuro unit. He’d even taken on the nurse’s last name, which surprised everyone. 

She grinned. “Yup! You should’ve seen the hickeys on his neck. They must’ve had a really good time in Honolulu.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll give him a call.” She hurried out of the room while Carol went back into the scanning room to get the patient back on the bed. 

Daryl patted the radiologist tech on the shoulder, thanking him for getting them in so quickly. He met Carol back out in the hall and they wheeled the patient back to the Trauma Bay. After checking his patient’s vitals again and being satisfied he was stable for the moment, Daryl checked him for any other injuries. He could feel Alex’s eyes on him for a chair outside the room but ignored them. He found several bruises on the man’s wrists that were shaped like handprints and frowned. Not a good sign. He moved onto the patient’s stomach and found some bruising there as well. 

“What are you doing?” Alex got up and came closer. 

“Continuing my examination of my patient while I wait to hear back from the neurologist.” He didn't’ like Alex creeping in, so he glanced up at Carol and gave her a vague nod.

As the head nurse, she’d been in a situation like this many times and had several doctors give her that look. ‘Get this bitch out of my face before I punch them.’ Was usually the look she received. She nodded and turned to the man. “How about you get some coffee? This could take some time.” She kept her voice low and sweet, putting a hand on Alex’s shoulder and leading him to the hall to show him where a small kitchen was.

Daryl relaxed and continued his evaluation, documenting every injury he found, old and new, into a tablet so he wouldn’t forget anything. The man was certainly banged up. He had some muscle to him as well, Daryl noted. So, he was strong and healthy as a 27-year-old man should be. He also found some healed track marks and one particular scar that confirmed to him just who Paul was. His heart leaped out of his chest. He looked back up at Paul’s face, jerking in shock when he saw the man looking right at him with those starry blue eyes. He stepped back up to the head of the gurney, leaning over the man with a hand on his cheek. 

“What happened ta ya, baby..? Hm?” He whispered sweetly. He kept his voice low. It wouldn’t do for anyone to catch on that he knew the man, even though it’d been ten years since they last saw each other or even spoken. 

The patient merely blinked at him dazedly. “Angel wings… broken… lights on the highway…” He seemed to be really trying to tell Daryl something. The doctor could see he was getting frustrated that he wasn’t understanding. 

“We’ll talk when you get out if surgery, okay?” Daryl stroked his fingers through the man’s sweaty hair. The man whimpered but nodded a bit in understanding. It didn’t take much longer for the surgical team to come and get the man. Daryl walked him to the OR doors, holding his hand. “I’ll come to see you when you get out, okay?” He let go as the doors opened and watched them wheel the patient into the OR. He sighed and rubbed his face. He still had patients to see in the ER, so he turned and walked back down the hall to his own department.

 

Several hours later, Daryl had finished with his last patient for the day and handed Maggie the patient’s chart. The phone rang and she answered it as she took the chart. “ED, this is Maggie. Oh, hey Dr. Raleigh. Yeah, he’s right here.” 

Daryl had been just about to walk away when Maggie practically shoved the phone in his face. He took it, putting the receiver to his ear. “Dixon speaking.”

“Hey, Daryl, its Aaron. I thought you might like to hear how your patient did in surgery.” 

Daryl instantly perked up, any tired aches he’d been feeling were gone. “Hey, Aaron. Yeah, how’d he do?”

“Well, he arrested shortly after we got him on the table, but two shocks and a shot of Epi and we managed to get him back. He did beautifully for the rest of surgery. We found a blood clot in his brain, but we got it out. I had the trauma surgeon come in and take a look at him. Aside from a few cuts and bruises, he should be fine.” 

Daryl relaxed, releasing a deep sigh. “Thank god…” He whispered and rubbed his face. “He in ICU?”

“Yeah, room 215. Is he someone you know?” Aaron asked with a curious voice. “The techs said he held the patient’s hand all the way to the doors. You’ve never done that unless it was a child.”

The doctor swallowed thickly. “... Yeah. He’s an… old boyfriend from a long time ago. We… it's a long story.”

“You sound like you need to talk about it. Wanna get some dinner with Eric and I?”

Daryl didn’t normally mix work and personal relationships, but Aaron and Eric were both really good people, and he could use some friends. “You know what, yeah. That sounds nice. Lemme just go talk to him… I need to see that he’s alright. Not that I don’t trust you-”

Aaron laughed. “Daryl, it’s fine. I get it. If it were Eric I’d feel the same way. Meet us at The Steak Shack in two hours?”

The doctor smiled. “Sounds great.” He hung up and gave Maggie a smile. “He’s gonna be fine.”

Maggie and Carol both smiled. “That’s great! You gonna go see him?” At the doctor’s nod, the girls shooed him away.

Daryl grinned. His heart was racing. He felt like a kid again going on his first date. He went into the locker room and quickly changed into his jeans and tshirt. He pulled his boots and vest on and grabbed his helmet and leather jacket. Rather than going out the door, he walked through the ER department and got onto the elevator at the end of the hall, going up to the 2nd floor. The hospital was large, so it took him several minutes to reach the ICU. He flashed his badge to the security guard and walked through the doors. 215 was at the end of the first hall. He peeked in the window and saw Alex sitting on the edge of the bed. He frowned and knocked softly before entering.

Alex looked up and smiled sweetly. “Dr. Dixon… come to see your patient?”

“Yeah… I always like to follow up, make sure they got the best care possible.” That wasn’t a complete lie. The more major cases, like Paul’s, he did often follow up to make sure they were okay. Paul just happened to be a very special case. 

Paul was sitting up in the bed. He had a bandage around his head and an oxygen line in his nose. His color was definitely better. He looked up from where his and Alex’s hands were laced together tightly. It looked uncomfortable in Daryl’s opinion. “So, you’re the angel everyone’s been telling me about?”

Daryl smiled a bit, coming closer. “I wouldn’t say I’m an angel… just really good at my job.” 

Paul shifted a bit with a wince. “Um… Alex… could you go get me some water?”

Alex got a bit of a suspicious look on his face, bhut nodded and stood up, practically throwing Paul’s hand down. He left the room, letting the door fall shut behind him. Daryl peeked out through the window, watching until Alex disappeared around the corner. He felt safe enough to shut the curtain around the bed. 

“So, am I right to assume he’s abusing you?” Daryl put his jacket and helmet down on the counter and pulled a chair up to the bed. He sat down and looked at Paul’s hand. The man was stretching it out as if the relieve the soreness from Alex holding it. 

The patient looked at him. “No use lying to a doctor I suppose,” he whispered. He leaned back into the pillow, relaxing now that the man was gone. He opened his eyes to look at Daryl. “Have we met before..? I mean… besides last night when I was talking nonsense.” 

Daryl felt his throat tighten. The way the man had looked at him last night and the way he was talking made him believe Paul had remembered him. What he was saying may not have made sense to anyone else, but it had to Daryl. They hadn’t dated long, but those three weeks had been the best time of Daryl’s life. 

He remembered that night clearly. They’d been a bit high and Paul had been drunk. They were driving his old pickup down a long stretch of backwoods highway when the truck broke down. Paul had been a giggly mess, trying to get his hand down Daryl’s pants. Daryl had playfully smacked his hand away and gotten out of the truck so he could pop the hood. He couldn’t fix it without his tools, so he’d left Paul with the truck and started walking to his house since it was close, but when he’d gotten back Paul had been gone. He’d tried finding his boyfriend, but Paul didn’t have a phone at the time and he was never at any of their usual hangouts. 

“... You don’t remember me?” His voice was a whisper. 

Paul eyed the doctor, tilting his head a bit in thoughtful curiosity. “I think I’d remember someone as handsome as you.”

The doctor looked down at his hands. He had a ring on his finger. It was an old thing. Something Paul had found in the forest during one of their high excursions chasing each other around. It was just a plain gold band with some elvish markings on it. Paul had said it was the one ring from some book Daryl had never heard about. He’d even gotten down on one knee when he’d given it to Daryl, saying he was the one for him. Daryl had shoved him playfully but accepted the ring. 

“... You okay?” Paul asked, eyeing the doctor worriedly. 

Daryl nodded and stood up. “I’m glad you’re alright. I’ll have the nurses call the Sheriff for you. He’s a friend of mine, so he’ll make sure you’re taken care of.” He turned away to grab his helmet and leather jacket.

Paul blinked, opening his mouth to ask the doctor to stay, but faltered when he saw the dull wings on the back of the man’s vest. He’d seen that sight before, dreamed about it frequently. Wings on the back of a vest walking away in headlights on a dark highway. “Wings on the highway…”

Daryl froze. He slowly turned back to Paul. The man was sitting up in bed, looking at Daryl with recognition. “What..?”

“I remember… wings on the highway… going away from me. I was… I was in an old truck… with broken tail lights. I got out looking for something or someone. I started walking into the forest, but… I got all turned around. I slipped and fell down a ravine and hit my head. I woke up several days later in a hospital. They said I had long-term memory loss, but… I always remembered wings and broken tail lights on the highway.” Paul pushed the blanket aside, starting to get out of bed.

“Whoa! Don’t get up.” Daryl hurried to his bedside, gently taking hold of his calf to lift it back onto the bed. He covered the man up again. “So you wandered off? When I got back to the truck you were gone. I looked for you everywhere.”

Paul looked at him. “... I’m sorry… I don’t-I can’t remember your name.” 

“... Daryl Dixon.” 

The name brought back so many memories. Nights doing drugs and having sex with the most amazing man he’d ever met. It was like someone finally opened the blinds in a dark room he’d been locked up in for years. He hyperventilated, gripping the blanket over his lap. What had he been doing for ten years? 

“Paul, relax… deep breaths.” Daryl leaned forward to turn the oxygen up a couple ccs. He rubbed Paul’s back, shushing him softly as the man started taking deep breaths. “There you go.” 

Paul relaxed after a while. “Daryl-” It was a breathy whisper and then the man started sobbing. “I’m sorry… you must’ve-” He couldn’t finish his sentence with the sobs coming out harder.

Daryl smiled and pulled the man close. “Hey, it's alright.” He held Paul, hand petting his back gently. “I’m just you’re okay. I was so damn worried when I couldn’t find you.”

“I woke up in a hospital in Cumberland.” Paul calmed down enough to pull away and wipes the tears off his cheeks.

“Cumberland? Fuck, baby, how long was ya walkin for?” Daryl grabbed a tissue from the box on the overbed table. The patient took it and wiped his nose. He remained leaning over the man, one hand holding himself up by Paul’s hip.

“I never found out. The person who found me said my skin was cold to the touch and my clothes were torn and dirty. The doctor that treated me said the blood was dried and I was severely dehydrated. So, it could’ve been a day or two.” Paul swallowed thickly. “I fell because I was dehydrated and dizzy, my vision was hazy. I had no idea where I was.”

Daryl felt his chest ache. He never should’ve left Paul alone that night. He knew the man had a tendency to get confused when he drank while getting high. “Fuck…. Paul… I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

Paul shook his head. “I don’t blame you.” He held Daryl’s hand tightly. 

The door opened and Alex walked in, holding a cup of water. He stopped when he saw their hands and how Paul seemed to have been crying. He raised an eyebrow. “... Do you flirt with all your patients, too, Dr. Dixon?”

Daryl didn’t let go of Paul’s hand. He gave Alex a challenging look, daring him to get near Paul. “No, but I do comfort them and offer them, assistant, if I suspect they’re in an abusive relationship.”

Alex huffed and put the styrofoam cup of water down. “Abusive? I told you he fell off a building while doing parkour.”

Daryl shook his head while Paul glared at Alex. “I didn’t fall! You drugged me and then let me fall when I tried to grab your hand!” Before Alex could try to defend himself, Paul interrupted him. “No! We’re done, Alex! We’re over! I’m not going to let you push me around anymore!”

Alex clenched his fists. “You think I’m just going to let you-”

Daryl stood up. “I suggest you leave ‘fore I show you out myself.” He kept his voice low, but there was a definite growl to it. “‘N I don’t mean I'm gonna call security. No, I’m gonna grab you by yer hair ‘n pull you outta this hospital.”

The man looked between Paul and the doctor. He growled. “Fine. You can have him. I’m gonna sell all your shit if you don’t have it out of my apartment by tomorrow.” He didn’t give them a chance to say anything else. He just turned and left the room. 

Daryl waited a moment before turning back to Paul and sitting back down on the edge of the bed. He could see Paul’s worried expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll get some people together to get your things.” 

“But where am I going to put all of it..? Where am I going to stay?” 

He could tell Paul was beginning to panic again, and not just by the heart monitor beeping rapidly. He reached forward to pet Paul’s cheek. “Yer gonna stay with me. I ain’t lettin you out of my sight again, Paul. We’re gonna do it right this time. Okay?” Paul stared into the doctor’s blue eyes. He smiled after a moment and nodded, leaning into the doctor’s hand.


	3. Ch. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl reflects during dinner.

Daryl left the hospital about an hour later. Paul’s nurse had come in to give him his pain meds and some antibiotics for all the cuts and scrapes on his body. The pain meds had made him sleepy, so he’d passed out pretty quickly. Daryl told the nurse to call him if anything happened, and since she’d worked with him a long time she hadn’t argued. He stopped by his house to shower and change before making his way to the steak house to meet Aaron and Eric for dinner. Thankfully, he was only a few minutes later than they were, so they had a table already. He sat down after shaking both their hands and hugging them. The waitress came over and took his drink order when she brought them their chips and salsa. 

Aaron smiled at him as he sipped on his beer. “So, how’s your patient?”

Daryl blushed a bit, but smiled and munched on a chip. “He’s good, fell asleep just before I left. His boyfriend was abusin ‘im, which was a bit of a shock t’me. Paul’s always been… strong-willed ‘n level headed. He’d never let no one push ‘im around.” He thanked the waitress when she brought him his beer and water. She took their order, giving Daryl a flirty wink before walking away. He ignored her. “I found out what happened ten years ago, though.”

Eric always loved a good love story with lots of romance and tragedy, so he scooted closer, giving Daryl his full attention. His new husband chuckled and shook his head. “Hush, Aaron.”

The doctor smiled and sipped his beer. “We’d been young ‘n stupid… but so in love. We were high ‘n drunk ‘n I’s drivin my old pick truck a lil too fast, so it broke down. Paul was worse off than I was, so I left ‘im in the truck ‘n started walkin t’my place since it weren’t too far.” Daryl didn’t bother trying to speak formally. He wasn’t a doctor right now, he was a man having dinner with friends. “When I came back with my tools, I’s a bit soberer ‘n…. Paul was gone. He’d… wandered off into the woods lookin fer me.” Daryl looked down. He couldn’t imagine how Paul must have felt, walking around with a fever, not knowing where he was. “... He’d been sick with a cold, so… he had a fever. He was disoriented. He fell ‘n hit his head. He’d wandered for two days before someone found him.”

Eric and Aaron were holding hands tightly, both of them looking compassionate and understanding. “... That’s so terrible.” Eric whispered. 

“He’d lost his memory. The only thing he remembered about me was my back… the vest I always wear ‘n the broken tail lights of that old truck.”

“So… when Carol told me he was mumbling about angel wings-”

“He was talkin about me.” Daryl nodded. “Paul told me he dreamed about me often. Anytime he was sick with a fever, he’d mumble about angel wings walkin away from ‘im ‘n broken tail lights. He never truly forgot me, he just… he couldn’t put the pieces together.” He sighed and took a long drink from his beer. “I never shoulda left ‘im alone that night. I knew he’d been sick ‘n he was high ‘n drunk… shoulda known he’d wander off lookin fer me. He gets so… needy when he’s sick. He wants ta be held ‘n takin care of. I just… I wanted ta get ‘im home safe. I couldn’t let ‘im walk ‘r I feared he woulda passed out.”

Eric reached across the table to take Daryl’s hand into his own. “Hey… you were young… you just wanted to take care of him. You were doing your best.” The words brought him some comfort. He smiled and squeezed Eric’s hand in gratitude. “You’re together again. You just have to make up for lost time now.”

Aaron smiled and kissed Eric’s hair. “What about his boyfriend?”

Daryl released Eric’s hand so he could lean back and munch on another chip. “Paul broke up with his ass, but he wants Paul moved out of the apartment tomorrow. I’m gonna move ‘im in with me. He’s gonna need a good support system fer his recovery anyways. So… think ya’ll could help me out?”

Eric and Aaron looked at each other, having a silent conversation between them with only their eyes. Daryl craved a relationship like theirs. He wanted a relationship where you could just look at each other and know what the other was thinking. They smiled and nodded to each other. Aaron looked at his fellow doctor. “Of course, we’d be glad to help.”

Daryl smiled, so glad to have friends like them. When he’d first became a doctor and started his internship at Atlanta Medical he told himself he’d keep his professional and personal relationship separate; but, he spent more than sixty hours at the hospital, so it’d been hard to have a life outside the hospital. He’d met Eric first. Eric helped him learn certain procedures when his resident refused to teach him. He’d learned a lot from the nurses like Carol and Maggie. He respected nurses a lot, that made him popular with them. It’d taken him longer to become friends with other doctors. Aaron had taken him under his wing when he’d seen his resident mistreated him. 

Now, Daryl was a third-year resident. He still had a lot to learn, but he was happy. He had good friends and colleagues and Paul was back in his life. He just hoped the man still loved him. He enjoyed dinner with Aaron and Eric. They talked about work and gossiped about friends, but only in the teasing way. Daryl held no judgment over anyone unless they deserved it… like Negan and Blake. He asked them about their honeymoon and listened intently to their stories, daydreaming about his own with a special starry-eyed man with long hair and sweet lips.

 

Daryl was off the next day, so he slept in for an hour and then called Aaron to see if they were ready to help him get Paul’s things. He stopped by the hospital first to check on Paul and get a list of what the man wanted him to pick up. Paul was hesitant. 

“You really don’t have to do this for me.” The man whispered. He stared down at his hands. He was tired. He’d been through a lot the last ten years and it was all catching up to him. Daryl settled on the edge of the bed and took his hand into his. 

“I know, but I want to.” He picked up the comb from the over the bed table and scooted closer. He started combing Paul’s hair gently, getting bits of dried blood out. “Once I get yer things moved to my place, I’ll come back and give you a shower, okay?”

Paul nodded. “... You never forgot me?”

Daryl paused and leaned back a bit. He gently raised Paul’s chin to look him in the eye. “Course I didn’t. Paul… you were my everythin… you still are. If ya don’t feel the same, I understand. I still wanna help you, though.”

“... Okay.” The patient whispered. To be honest, he wasn’t quite sure what he felt for the doctor at the moment. His memory was still in pieces. He remembered little details, emotions, and visions. “... How did I get here? How could I have… let… him do this to me?”

“Paul… you had memory loss. You had such a high fever, you were dehydrated and you hit your head so hard, it joggled your brain. You wasn’t yerself.” He cupped Paul’s cheek. “Alex took advantage of that. He took advantage of how vulnerable you was ‘n made himself seem like some savior that you owed yer life to. You didn’t do nothin wrong. This is all on him. Okay?”

Paul stared Daryl in the eye. Daryl was his true savior. Just by being on shift yesterday and never forgetting him he’d given Paul his life back. He smiled, holding Daryl’s hand. “Okay.” 

“‘N we are gonna have so much fun together.” Daryl smiled, combing Paul’s hair again. “I got a nice two story house with plenty of room. Even got a swimmin pool in the back yard ‘n a pool table in the basement. Yer recovery is gonna take a while, but you’ll be fine. I got some time saved up so I can take time off t’be with ya.” He remembered how Paul liked to have his hair, so he braided it over his shoulder. “There…” He stroked the backs of his fingers across Paul’s cheek. “Yer gonna be fine.”

“... Thank you.” Paul sniffled, leaning into Daryl’s hand. He took a deep breath and smiled. “I’m so glad you were here yesterday.”

Daryl smiled. “Me, too.” He leaned in and kissed Paul’s forehead. “Okay, I gotta go. I’ll be back after we finish, okay?” 

Paul nodded and handed Daryl the list. He let the man lay him back down and cover him with the blanket. “Can you… can you bring the black and white angel wing blanket with you?” He’d bought that blanket on a whim while he’d been shopping one Christmas. It’d become his comfort blanket. “It’s my favorite blanket… its brought me a lot of comfort.”

The doctor smiled and nodded. “Of course, darlin.” He stroked Paul’s hair a moment. “Get some rest.” He stepped back to pull his jacket on and left the room, shutting the door quietly. He smiled at Paul’s nurse. “I’ll be back later.” She nodded and he got on the elevator. 

He met Aaron and Eric at Alex’s apartment. He was glad they came to help because if they weren’t there he would’ve beat the man to a bloody pulp. Eric had had the forethought to bring some boxes to put Paul’s things in, so Daryl handed the man the list so they could start gathering all Paul’s clothes and personal effects. When they finished, Daryl looked through them all, but the blanket was missing. 

“Where’s the angel wing blanket?” He glared at Alex. “Paul wants it specifically.”

Alex shrugged, arms crossed. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it.”

Daryl growled and walked back into the apartment. He went into the bedroom and searched through the closet, then into the guest room. He nearly tore the apartment apart trying to find it. Alex smirked at him. “Alright, ya lil shit!” He lunged forward, shoving Alex into a wall. “Where is it?!”

Alex just glared at him. “I burned it. I hated that blanket because it represented a part of Paul that would never be mine.”

Aaron and Eric glanced at each other. They’d never seen Daryl like this before. He always exuded an air of confidence and calm. Now, he was all growling and animalistic aggressive. Daryl growled and shoved away from Alex. “... You…” He clenched his fists and without warning socked the man in the cheek, knocking him off balance. “If you ever come near Paul, I ain’t gonna let ya off with a warnin. ‘N if I ever catch you alone… I won’t be responsible fer what happens t’you!” He picked up the last box and followed Aaron and Eric out of the apartment.

They loaded the boxes into the back of his truck. He shut the cover and locked it. “Thanks fer comin guys. I dunno what I woulda done t’im if ya’ll hadn’t been here.”

Aaron smiled and patted Daryl’s shoulder. “It was no problem man. We should do a double date sometimes. I bet Eric and Paul would get along great.”

Eric hugged Daryl, rubbing his back. He pulled back and smiled. “I’m proud of you.” He whispered. He knew just how aggressive Daryl could get sometimes, especially when it came to domestic violence cases, more so when it came to children. He kissed Daryl’s cheek. “What’re you going to do about the blanket?”

Daryl sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I dunno. He really loved that blanket.” He had a few spares he could bring to Paul. He knew it wouldn’t be the same, but he hoped they would bring the patient some comfort. He hugged the two men again before getting into his truck and driving to his house. He carried the boxes in and did a quick cleaning of the house, mainly the guest room. It was never used, so he tossed the dusty sheets into the washer. He went into his own room and pulled his favorite green and black fleece blanket off the bed. He folded it and took it out to his truck. He switched the sheets over to the dryer before he left so they would be fresh when he came home. 

He got to the hospital and carried the box with the blanket, books and the couple sets of clothes in his arms. He peeked into Paul’s room. The man was asleep, so he stepped in quietly. He set the box down and pulled the clothes out. He hung them up in the closet and took the blanket out and spread it out over Paul’s body. Hospitals were very cold. The heaters were always breaking down and saline and certain medications were kept cold, so patients were always cold. He sighed, disappointed he couldn’t get Paul’s favorite blanket. He settled into the recliner by the bed and pulled his phone out to play on while he waited for Paul to wake up. 

The nurses' shifts were changing, so they came in to wake Paul up a few hours later. The night nurse introduced herself to a sleepy Paul who stared at them blankly while they exchanged report. They left just as fast as they came in, so Paul looked over at Daryl. He smiled. Daryl smiled back and got up. He poured Paul a bit of water and helped him drink it. Paul sighed thankfully. He felt the soft fleece under his hand and looked down. Daryl put the styrofoam cup down and settled on the edge of the bed. 

“I’m sorry. I nearly tore that asshole’s apartment apart tryin t’find yer blanket, but… Alex said he burned it. I-I didn’t know what t’do, so I brought you one’a mine.” Daryl swallowed thickly, rubbing Paul’s arm gently. 

Paul clutched the blanket and brought it to his face since it was so soft. He took a deep breath. The blanket smelled warm and spicy like Daryl himself. He smiled, relaxing under the thick blanket. “It’s okay.” He murmured and curled up. “It smells like you. I like it.” He looked up at Daryl. “Thank you.”

Daryl smiled. “I also brought you some clothes so you don’t gotta stay in the itchy hospital gowns. I’ve got you a room all set up in my house, even got the sheets in the dryer to freshen them up. Ain’t had anyone stay in my house with me since I moved in, so.”

“Thank you, Daryl… really. You have no idea what this means to me. You could’ve just called my parents and told them, but… instead, you’re taking me in. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents, but I really don’t want to live with them again.” Paul chuckled. He reached for Daryl’s hand and held it in his own. “... Are we… are we going to try again?”

Daryl blushed and looked down at their hands. He rubbed his thumb over Paul’s knuckles. “I want to. I want to more than anythin ta have ya in my life again. I want us t’be together like we were back then, jus… without the drugs ‘n with less alcohol.” He chuckled softly. 

Paul smiled. “... Okay. I’d like that, too. I… I wanna remember what it was like to love you and be loved by you. Without the drugs and alcohol.” He chuckled in agreement and brought Daryl’s knuckles up to kiss them. When he saw they were bust he blinked. “What happened?”

“Oh… I… I might’a punched Alex when he said he burned yer blanket.” Daryl reached over and grabbed a couple alcohol wipes. Paul took them and gently cleaned Daryl’s knuckles. “Y’mad at me?”

“Why would I be? He deserved it.” He tossed the wipes aside and smiled up at the doctor. “... You’re good to me.”

“Well… only cause yer so beautiful.” The doctor teased softly. Paul’s cheeks flushed and he hid his face in the blanket. Daryl chuckled and leaned down to kiss his hair.


End file.
